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Ligninase-mediated transformation of 4,4′-dibromodiphenyl ether (BDE 15)

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Abstract

The structurally related hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) like hydroxylated 4,4′-dibromodiphenyl ether widely occur in precipitation, surface water, and biotic media. The origins of hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) are of particular interest due to their greater toxic potencies than the corresponding PBDEs. We studied the transformation behavior and products of 4,4′-dibromodiphenyl ether (BDE 15) mediated by lignin peroxidase (LiP), an extracellular enzyme that is produced by certain white rot fungus and is widely present in the natural environment. We found that BDE 15 can be effectively transformed through the reaction mediated by LiP, and two different mono-OH-dibromodiphenyl ethers were identified by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-MS/MS. In particular, we compared the reaction behavior for systems variously containing natural organic matter (NOM) and/or veratryl alcohol (VA), a metabolite that certain fungus produces along with LiP in nature. It was found that the VA’s enhancement effect on LiP performance was impaired by the presence of NOM. The findings in this study provide useful information for better understanding the origins of OH-PBDEs found in the environment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science foundation of China (no. 20977044), and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2009CB421604).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China

    Yiping Feng, Liang Mao, Yijun Chen & Shixiang Gao

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  1. Yiping Feng
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  2. Liang Mao
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  3. Yijun Chen
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  4. Shixiang Gao
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Correspondence to Shixiang Gao.

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Responsible editor: Markus Hecker

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Feng, Y., Mao, L., Chen, Y. et al. Ligninase-mediated transformation of 4,4′-dibromodiphenyl ether (BDE 15). Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 6667–6675 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1847-y

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